The Vaping Community is Awesome

There seems to be a bit of negativity about the vaping community today. It doesn’t concern impending government regulations. Or the mounting pile of ridiculous anti-vaping propaganda. It doesn’t have anything to do with questionable counterfeit hardware, and there have been no damning health research papers.

So where is this ire being directed? The community itself.

It has apparently become fashionable to complain about the state of vaping today. People lament the cloud comps and “elitist” B&M employees. They say that spending $300 on a mod is a ridiculous and call vapers “entitled” when they ask for better service from companies in the industry. It’s too techy, it’s too nerdy, it’s too “masculine.”

Or, as one online commentator recently put it:

“This community sucks, is full of a**clowns, and I’m f****** done. I’m quitting my job and moving away from this cesspool. Yes, I’m being crass but I don’t give a f*** because I’m severing all ties to this community.”

Well then.

Personally, I think this is overblown. Yes, there are some undesirable elements to vaping culture (warning, adult content right there), but they by no means reflect the entirety of the community. I’ve pointed out before that I think that the media has focused on negative stories concerning vaping, but who are we to judge if the community itself is doing the same thing?

Instead of complaining about people who are, indeed, a bit annoying, we should put that energy towards celebrating the people that make the vaping community awesome. These are the unsung heroes, the ones who spend time on internet forums creating step-by-step instructions for newbies on how to re-wrap batteries for no reason other than fake internet points and the satisfaction of knowing you may help someone avoid the horrors of a vented battery.

And what about the vapers who give away juice that they spent their hard earned money on to to peers interested in quitting smoking? Sound far-fetched? We know someone who does it. He’d rather not have the publicity of being recognized publicly, though.

Or how about doing the same thing over the internet? Even more crazy you say? Not at all. I would even venture to say that it is a common occurrence. There’s even an entire subreddit devoted to taking your unused juice and vaping it forward. Some B&M’s have even started using “penny bowls” but with bottles instead.

Then you have non-profit organizations such as CASAA and the AVA that are fighting their hardest to preserve the right to vape for everyone who wants to partake. They’re not in it for the money, they just want to create a better world by allowing people every possible option for quitting cigarettes. Because, at the end of the day, that is what makes this community special: addressing one of humanity’s greatest health threats.

People will continue to complain about vaping culture, and they have every right to. But I think that for every person that leaves the community due to being fed up with small annoyances, two more will join because of the inclusiveness, helpfulness, and generosity of the large majority of vapers.

12 thoughts on “The Vaping Community is Awesome”

My favorite thing about the vaping community came when I was still quitting smoking. Every other time that I tried I had people pushing me and harping on me when I smoked, but for the first time, when I started vaping, people did the opposite. They supported me. I was congratulated for every cigarette I didn’t have rather than berated for every on I did. I had help on every front and someone out there with an answer for every question.

Plus, I think a lot of peoples irritation with the community comes from people being bothered with how into it a lot of us are, but I feel like those people haven’t felt what its like to loose yourself from the grip of addiction. Anyone who has, knows how amazing it feels and will have eternal gratitude for the thing that did it.

Iro!! I am glad that you have made the switch to vaping 🙂 The vape community has all experienced the same thing, that’s what allows all of us to be so understanding to each other! Keep clouding up the place.. Yip Yip 🙂